Barbra Streisand Featured In The New Issue Of Parade Magazine
Barbra Streisand is in this Sunday's issue of Parade magazine discussing her wild past, early days on stage, growing older, double standards, and her "perfect" reputation.
Her wild child past.
"There's a part of you that always remains a child, no matter how mature you get, how sophisticated or weary. I was kind of a wild child. I don't know if it's in the DNA or what. I got good grades in school but a D in conduct. I would question everything, very much like Yentl."
Stepping into a man's world.
"Being a woman in music was fine, but when I wanted to direct, I was poking my head into a man's world. 'What do you mean you're going to direct? Women are the actresses, they're frivolous, not the ones responsible for finances.' That really got me."
Playing dress up. "I stopped wearing [costumes] when people said it was a gimmick--you know, Second Hand Rose. But the truth is, I didn't know what you were supposed to wear. I'd never been in a nightclub until the first time I sang in one. I just knew women were supposed to wear beautiful gowns. So I bought what I thought was beautiful." Being her own worst critic "I never hear the good things about me. My friend Quincy Jones says we won our first Grammys together in 1963. I have no recollection. I don't even remember the room. When he showed me the picture, I remembered what I wore. But it's like awards don't mean anything." The ups and downs of fame. "My early television specials were really good. I'm proud of the movies I've directed. I like those. But for all the public life--I get kind of embarrassed by it." Enjoying her Malibu home. "I grew up in Brooklyn. When I'd get sent away to that camp during the summer, it always made me wheeze. I'd get asthma. I couldn't breathe. I was used to the hot, steamy streets where we'd turn on the hoses and play with the water and look down at the rainbows in the ground. Here, the skies change, the cloud patterns change, the color of the sea is always different. I'm in heaven. I feel very grateful every day. It's like a movie--I have my own piece of sky." On her reputation as a perfectionist. "Really, there's no such thing. The only perfection is imperfection, because otherwise it would be inhuman, too cold. What is perfect? Maybe a flower with its dewdrops in the early morning." How about her handsome husband of 11 years, actor James Brolin? "Yes, it's annoying. You're right, he's perfect. He has the most beautiful bone structure, jaw, teeth, nose, eyes, forehead. We meet people, and they always say, 'Jim, you look so great.' He looks like that sleeping, too. It's really true." Understanding the opposite sex. "In a relationship, you have to think what's great about it, what works, the good qualities. And you try to overlook the things that bug you. He must do that with me all the time. It's reciprocal. Even though I made "Yentl," I see that men are different. The ego is different. You have to understand and appreciate the differences. And they're kind of fun." Speaking her political mind. "I was always political. You're always a citizen first, an artist second. It's interesting that a Paul Newman or Robert Redford wouldn't get attacked for being interested in politics, the environment. It's a double standard, but women are changing. There are nine women presidents in the world, and Hillary Clinton is Secretary of State. " On getting older. "You get older, and it's a bit of a shock. I still feel so young inside. And that's me in the mirror? It must be harder to age if you were known as a beauty queen. So I'm kind of fortunate. But, in truth, I'm happier than I ever was in my life. I have a husband who loves me, and I have this beautiful piece of the Earth." To read more about Babs visit parade.com.
